


Family Tree

by GemNika



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: CoLu Week 2015, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecurity, M/M, Mates, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 13:15:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: Lucy doesn't let anyone hear her sing, even her husband and mate. The pain she still holds onto from the past stops her from ever even trying. What is she to do when she's alone and wants to comfort their unborn child?





	Family Tree

 

Lucy groaned and placed her hands on her stomach, her lip curling in discomfort when a tiny foot decided to wiggle just beneath her palm. "Alright, alright," she sighed. "You're just as bad as your father…" Putting a small amount of pressure on the side of her swollen belly that was pressed against the bed, Lucy carefully and extremely slowly rolled over onto her other side. She grimaced when she was lying on her back, slowly rubbing soothing circles over what she assumed was the restless little child's back—although it could have been the butt, Lucy was going off of intuition—and took a deep breath before finishing her rotation. A contented sigh slipped past her lips as she tucked a large body pillow between her legs and under her stomach, and Lucy closed her eyes while she tried to fall asleep again.

Eight months into her pregnancy, and she was definitely feeling like a whale. Well, more like she had eaten a whale and was in the process of digesting it. What was worse was that Cobra, her oddly endearing yet no less grumpy husband and mate of three years, was out on an S-Class mission with Laxus and Gajeel and wasn't due back for another few nights. She always found it more difficult to sleep when he wasn't there, since their little baby girl seemed to enjoy curling herself up to get closer to his warmth. Lucy knew part of that was because he actually ended up secreting the smallest bit of poison over the course of the night while they slept, and that it soaked into her skin to give their little one the extra nourishment she needed. Then there was the fact that he had a habit of just watching Lucy sleep and rubbing her belly—something she had found out when she had woken up in the middle of the night to pee a few nights after they found out the sex—all while softly humming song after song to the growing life inside of her.

It wasn't lost on her that he was determined to be the best father imaginable because of his own tortured past, and she had lost count of how many times the tenderness he showed her and their unborn child had brought her to tears. Her hand slowly moved down to rub her swollen belly again, and she smiled when she felt the baby rolling over to get more comfortable. She still couldn't believe that she and Cobra had created such a wonderful little life, and that they would get to meet her in only a month. All of the cravings, the raging hormones, swollen ankles, heartburn, sleepless nights, and back pain were well worth it in Lucy's eyes. Hell, even the fact that she was sure she had her own gravitational pull that only increased as their daughter grew even larger. "You're somewhere between a bag of potato chips and a tub of chicken right now," she whispered tenderly, a soft and breathy laugh slipping past her lips. "Neither of which Daddy will let us have too much of. He definitely spoils us, though…"

That was true in more ways than she could even express. For all the times she'd had just the right words to perfectly describe any given situation—with her author's mind instantly supplying every perfectly placed adjective and noun—how Cobra cared so deeply for the two most important girls in his life was something that was always just out of reach when it came to putting it to words. She could spend hours describing just what he'd done for her, how it had made her feel, and what the result was of his tender actions. But, no matter what she said or thought or wrote in her letters to her parents, it wasn't enough.

"He always puts extra strawberries on our pancakes," Lucy sighed as she closed her eyes again. "And rubs Mommy's back when you've been a little wiggle worm all day." A sweet and sleepy smile pulled at her lips, her hand still circling over her stomach. "He kisses us right when we wake up, and watches all those silly movies Mommy loves, even though he hates them. Just between you and me, Doodle Bug? I think Daddy likes them at least a little."

The baby wiggled slightly, and Lucy decided that her daughter agreed with her observation.

"Daddy makes sure to take Uncle Laxus and Uncle Gajeel with him on missions, so you and I don't have to worry about him as much."

A fluttering kick made Lucy jolt, and her eyes shot open in surprise.

"It's perfectly fine to worry about Daddy when he's away," she whispered tenderly. When another, stronger kick hit her palm Lucy laughed and closed her eyes again. "Yes, Daddy's very strong, and he doesn't really need anyone with him to take care of himself."

The baby rolled over again.

"But, no matter how strong and powerful he is, it's always better to have someone with you, sweetie. Uncle Laxus and Uncle Gajeel are strong too, and they'll make sure that Daddy comes home safe and sound." Lucy smiled as a knee shifted in her belly, one tiny leg extending into what she could only assume was a more comfortable position. "Not even born yet, and you're already telling me that he's incapable of getting hurt," she mused with a yawn. "I'll have you know, sweetie… Daddy  _can_  get hurt. And any time he does, Mommy's right there to take care of him. Just like he did for me before."

Lucy's hand finally stilled and she opened her eyes to look at the picture of herself and Cobra on her nightstand. There wasn't much light peeking in the window, but she could see just well enough to make out the image. She remembered the day they took that picture as though it was only yesterday, even though it wasn't the first time they had met under that tree. Her relationship with Cobra seemed to revolve around the tall oak in the picture.

He had been released from prison, and was making his way to Fairy Tail, and Lucy ran into him (literally) under that tree while running away from a Vulcan.

Team Natsu had been coming home from a mission, and Natsu ended up burning a good portion of the forest down. That tree was one of the few survivors, because Cobra had been passing through and knocked Natsu out while Lucy had Aquarius put the fire out. She had thanked him by treating him to a round of drinks at the guild.

Cobra asked Lucy out under that same tree almost a year later. The first time they slept together was on a clear night while looking up at the stars through its branches. When she'd gotten the courage to say she loved him for the first time, and he'd thankfully reciprocated, it had been there. Every milestone in their relationship, even the day he proposed when the leaves were dead and there was a foot of snow on the ground, had involved that tree.

The picture on the nightstand was one of the happiest days of her life. The day they'd gotten married. It had been a spur of the moment decision to do it right then instead of having a big fancy wedding. Her team, her two 'big brothers' Laxus and Gajeel, Kinana, and Master Makarov were there. Surprisingly, Midnight and Angel had stopped by for a random visit, and they'd been able to attend the small wedding under the oak tree. Erza had been acting as a photographer in Mira's stead—since someone needed to tend the bar at the guild—and she'd captured their first kiss as husband and wife perfectly.

No one had been wearing anything even remotely fancy, and Lucy wouldn't have it any other way. She wanted to see the ones that were most important in her life just as they were, not stuffed into uncomfortable suits and dresses to appease some bullshit stereotype that weddings are supposed to be gaudy events. Cobra was in his favorite pair of black pants, a dark red shirt, and his white jacket with the fur-lined edges she loved so much. She was wearing a black micro-skirt that he'd bought her for her birthday, a royal blue tube top, and her ankle-high combat boots. It didn't matter what they were wearing. Hell, if everyone present had been naked, it still wouldn't have mattered—although, she probably would have been scarred for life and burned all of the pictures if she'd seen Makarov sans clothing. No, what mattered to her was the fact that she'd married the best friend she'd ever had.

Sure, Natsu was her partner, and a great friend. But, Cobra… He understood her on so many levels that had nothing to do with his magic. Once Lucy had figured out his odd quirks and sense of humor, she saw how much of a sweetheart he actually was.

Lucy sighed happily, and slowly propped herself up on her elbow. She carefully reached over and picked up the bottle she kept next to the bed, then slowly sipped the nightshade tea—silently thanking the stars above that it tasted just as good cold as it did piping hot—when the baby started hiccupping. "I know," she whispered, looking down at her stomach, "Once Daddy's home we'll both sleep easier."

She put the bottle back down once the small bout of hiccups subsided, and snuggled back into the mountain of pillows she had accumulated to try and replicate Cobra's arms and chest while he held her. "You know, Doodle Bug," Lucy giggled, "There's a funny song your Daddy sings about the tree in the backyard. He wrote it after buying the property here, when him and Uncle Laxus and Uncle Gajeel were building our house. Do you want Mommy to sing it for you? Maybe it'll help us sleep."

Lucy tucked her hair behind her ear and closed her eyes while she started humming the melody, a soft smile on her lips as she remembered just how much time had passed since Cobra had come into her life, and how much more time they were going to have together.

* * *

"Just crash here tonight," Cobra said with a smirk as the two hulking Slayers trudged up the path behind him on their way to his and Lucy's home. "You guys built your own fucking room, might as well use it."

"Sparky's the one that did that shit," Gajeel grumbled tiredly, sighing when Laxus wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. "I just went along with it since it means we get to see Bunny more often."

"You mean, have her cook you breakfast," Laxus chuckled, grunting when Gajeel elbowed his ribs.

"I never asked her to cook for me," Gajeel muttered with a smirk. "She does it 'cuz she loves me the most."

"Sure," Laxus chuckled, "Keep telling yourself that, babe."

"Well, she's not cooking breakfast tomorrow," Cobra said with a scowl. "She hardly sleeps when I'm not there, so I'll be surprised if she even gets out of bed before noon unless she's taking a piss." When they reached the front door, he turned to narrow his eye at the two cuddly Slayers that had named themselves Lucy's siblings and added, "Not a fucking sound, got it? She's half asleep right now, and if she hears you two, she'll wanna get out of bed."

Laxus and Gajeel rolled their eyes and nodded. Once the three of them were inside—with the door silently closed and locked behind them, and three pairs of boots sitting in the appropriate cubbies beneath the bench at the door—they started making their way through the darkened house. Gajeel frowned and paused in his step, causing Laxus to run into his back at the end of the hallway.

Cobra sighed and whispered, "Yeah, she's singing. C'mon, this is probably the only time you'll hear her doing it." He silently led them down the hallway to stand outside of his and Lucy's room, then turned and raised his eyebrow at the slack-jawed expressions he was faced with when all he heard from both of their thoughts was dead air.

_Are you, are you_   
_Coming to the tree?_   
_They strung up a man_   
_They say who murdered three._   
_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

"Why the hell doesn't she sing around anyone?" Gajeel whispered in shock as he listened to what he could only describe as the most beautiful goddamn voice he'd ever heard in his life. Lucy sounded like a sultry and soulful lounge singer, with the strangest hint of sweetness and innocence in her voice that made it utterly enchanting. "Bunny sounds... amazing..."

Cobra sighed and shook his head as he listened to Lucy through the door. He always loved hearing her sing, because the first time he'd accidentally caught her doing it, he found out that the beautiful, throaty alto voice that was constantly humming in her soul was actually exactly the same as her normal singing voice. It had floored him at the time, to think someone's vocal cords could actually produce such a pure sound, but that was just how Lucy was. She was so perfectly in tune with her soul, that she naturally sang that way as well. "Her old man," he answered sadly. "He heard her singing after her mom died, and beat the shit out of her for it since she sounded just like her mom. Confused the shit out of her too, since he kept making her take singing lessons."

"The fuck?" Laxus whispered with a sneer.

Cobra nodded. "Turns out, he was trying to change her voice, and when that didn't work he just made her feel like shit for it. Bastard told her that women weren't supposed to sound like  _whores_  while they're singing. She was fucking  _eleven_... Now she's scared to let anyone hear her doing it, because she still believes that her singing makes her sound like that... Hell, she even thinks  _I'll_  think that if I hear her more often than not..."

"That's beyond fucked up," Gajeel hissed.

"I know... It might get better though," Cobra replied hopefully as he looked at the closed door to the bedroom again. "She used to love singing, and maybe when the baby's born, she'll want to do it more often..."

_Are you, are you_   
_Coming to the tree?_   
_Where dead man called out_   
_For his love to flee._   
_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

"And just what the fuck is she singing to my niece?" Laxus added just as softly, frowning at the thought of the fucked up piece of shit that had been her father treating his daughter so cruelly. Ivan bad been a downright asshole, but that... Saying a little girl sounded like a whore because of her natural voice? He didn't have the words to describe how pissed he was that Lucy had been forced to live with someone like that. "I've never heard that song before..."

"That's because I wrote it, Short Circuit," Cobra said with a smirk.

"... What the hell is  _wrong_  with you?"

Cobra would have normally let out a bark of laughter, but kept it to himself so he wouldn't interrupt Lucy. "It's about the tree out back, dumbass."

"You mean the one you guys got married under?"

Cobra nodded. "Why do you think we bought  _this_  property specifically?"

_Are you, are you_   
_Coming to the tree?_   
_Where I told you to run,_   
_So we'd both be free._   
_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

Lucy sniffled, roughly wiping her eyes with a trembling hand. She returned it to her belly, and closed her eyes tightly to try and ward off the memories that always surfaced when she sang. Cobra had told her more than enough times that her father had been an idiot—a cruel bastard as well, but no less idiotic—for saying what he did. For screwing his daughter up, and ripping away just one more piece of the mother she'd lost. Lucy had loved singing with her mom, but now she couldn't do it without crying.

Layla's voice had been breathtaking and could bring someone to tears if she'd wanted. Lucy had been told that hers was just like her mother's, but her mom didn't sound so... Wrong. Not like Lucy did. Even when she was alone, it only served to remind her of all the times she had tried singing differently, singing higher even though it hurt to strain her voice that way. Lucy had loved it when her mom would sing to her, but the way  _she_  sounded... What would her daughter think if she heard it? Would she be ashamed to call Lucy her mother because of it, just like Jude had been ashamed to call her his daughter?

She couldn't find it in her to sing anymore, not when she realized that she was tainting her child with her voice. Lucy buried her face in the pillow beneath her head and let her tears fall unbidden. There was no point in trying to hold them back. She couldn't even sing a lullaby to her baby without feeling like she was doing something wrong... Lucky for her, Cobra decided to keep singing for her while he laid down behind her.

_Are you, are you_   
_Coming to the tree?_   
_Wear a necklace of hope,_   
_Side by side with me._

Lucy jumped when she felt that familiar tanned arm wrapping around her waist, his hand pushing under the shirt she'd borrowed from his side of the closet to rub slow circles over their baby. Cobra's deep baritone voice filled the air around them, so soft in comparison to how he normally spoke that her breath stuttered as her tears ran anew.

As soon as they smelled her tears, Cobra had ditched Laxus and Gajeel at the door and gone right to Lucy's side. Neither Slayer blamed him for essentially forgetting they were there when Lucy needed him, and seeing him instantly curl around her while he started singing to her had warmed their hearts when they realized just how different he was where his pregnant mate was concerned. Just like no one heard Lucy sing, no one had ever heard Cobra doing it either. Hell, they hadn't even known he  _liked_  music to begin with, or that he apparently wrote the shit.

_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

Cobra smiled and nuzzled her neck tenderly as he kept singing. He had never really considered music to be something that would interest him until he was locked in prison after Nirvana. It had been the only thing that kept him sane (well, as sane as he could get) and the guards were surprisingly willing to give him books to read on music theory to pass the time. It was how he had come to really understand his Soul Listening magic so fully, because he had been listening to music his entire life without ever realizing it. He finally had a way of describing what he heard.

Still, it hadn't been until he and Lucy took a mission together that he had been forced to sing for the first time in his life. Damn cursed temples, and dark mages with weird kinks. The only way for them to get out of that place had been for someone to sing a song. It was fucking stupid, unless you're a pair of mages that were either completely terrified of singing, or had never done it before. Needless to say, Lucy had been pleasantly surprised when Cobra bit the bullet and started singing, thinking he was making a song up on the spot—he just hadn't told her at the time that he was singing the melody he heard in her soul.

_Are you, are you  
Coming to the tree?_

Gajeel gently grabbed Laxus' hand and closed the door when Cobra kept singing to Lucy. He winced when there was a stifled sob that his enhanced hearing barely caught, and looked sadly up into his blonde mate's conflicted stormy gaze while they walked to their room on the other side of the house. "What is it?" he whispered.

Laxus stayed silent until they were in their own room, then wrapped his arms around Gajeel's muscular shoulders and nestled his nose in the wild black hair that always tickled his nose while they were in bed. "Blondie's dad was a fucking asshole..."

"Trust me, I know," Gajeel muttered.

"Don't start, Gajeel," Laxus sighed, running his fingers lightly over the Iron Slayer's back as Gajeel tightened his grip on Laxus' waist. "She got over what you did a long ass time ago. I know it was that fuckhole that hired you guys, but things are different now..."

"I know..." Gajeel sighed. After a moment he chuckled softly and said, "You ever realize that Bunny forgave three people that tried to kill her? And now we're the closest ones to her?"

A small smirk pulled at the corner of Laxus' mouth. "Yep," he chuckled. "Mated to someone that tried to kill her twice, one brother that tortured her, and another that almost shattered her when Ever turned her to stone. Blondie's a goddamn angel."

"She's got the worst fucking luck..."

"Nah," Laxus whispered, smiling as he lifted Gajeel's chin and pressed a tender kiss to the piercings in his nose. "I think her luck's pretty damn good. Cobra might be a fucking dildo most of the time, but he can help her. If anyone can do it, it's that mind-reading bastard."

_Where I told you to run,_   
_So we'd both be free._   
_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

"I love you, Erik," Lucy sniffled.

"Love you too, beautiful," Cobra whispered. "I'm glad I got to hear you singing." When Lucy shrunk in on herself marginally, Cobra sighed and lifted his hand from her stomach to shift the collar of her shirt to the side. He smiled down at the small patch of deep purple scales on her shoulder, then closed his mouth over it and let his poison seep into her mating mark. When he felt Lucy relaxing into him with a soft moan, he pulled back slightly and whispered, "I love it when you sing. It's just like your soul."

Lucy frowned and turned to look into Cobra's eye, her mouth opening to ask what he meant.

"I mean just that. Your voice is the same as your soul, Lucy. It's beautiful and perfect. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

Lucy sighed and nodded as she laid her head back down on the pillow. She knew Cobra wouldn't lie to her, it was just hard to believe that he was telling the truth after years of having the opposite drilled into her head. Luckily, when you're mate has the ability to hear what you're thinking about, he knows when it's best to just hold you, and when you need to talk. She always loved that about him. "You're home early," she said after a few silent minutes, with Cobra still letting his poison wash over her to help feed the baby.

"We all wanted to get back as soon as possible," Cobra chuckled. "Wasn't too hard anyway, especially when Spiky and Sparky got into an argument in the middle of a fight... I almost feel sorry for the bastards that got caught in the middle of that."

Lucy giggled and rolled her eyes. "Those two are ridiculous sometimes. Think we can head over to the guild tomorrow to see them? I've only been there once since you left, and that was when the Raijinshuu came to pick me up since Bix's babies let me sit on them when I got too tired to keep walking."

Cobra grinned and said, "Glad to see you're taking that bed rest thing so seriously." His poor, amazing wife apparently had a body that hated her—from what Lucy said—and had to be put on bed rest at Porlyusica's insistence. The ancient pink-haired, broom-wielding monster was probably one of Cobra's favorite people to listen in on. She was one big walking contradiction with all of her vehement ranting about hating humans, while secretly loving every second she was able to spend with them. If he hadn't respected her ability to be one of the only people to find a cure for his poison without magic—because there had been a training accident, and Laxus had knocked Cobra out when he saw that Gajeel had been poisoned before he could pull it back out—then the fact that the old crow absolutely fucking adored his mate, and had been over the fucking moon about them being together in the first place, drove that nail in the coffin.

"It sucks not being able to do anything for myself," Lucy sighed, "But as long as I have enough poison, I can still ask Virgo to open her gate when you're not here without risking my magic getting too low."

Cobra hummed and ran his nose along her neck, then lightly kissed just behind her ear. "Well, we can head down there if you want, but your brothers are crashing here tonight." When Lucy quite literally started internally squealing as she tried to hoist herself up and get out of the bed to see them, Cobra chuckled and sent out a stronger wave of poison into the air.

Lucy's eyes rolled back, her breath hitching as more of Cobra's element was sucked right into her. His hands gently gripped her shoulders and settled her back on the bed, and Lucy turned her head to look at him with hungry eyes. Even though the toxic gas was helping their daughter get the nourishment she needed, it still never failed to make Lucy's heart start pounding in her chest as a fresh wave of desire washed through her. She lifted one hand and tangled it in his hair, then forced his lips down to hers while small crimson tendrils still leaked from him.

Cobra growled in response to Lucy's long moan when his tongue plunged into her sweet mouth. He already knew exactly what she wanted, but he had been gone for a week already, and he didn't know if it was alright with how far along she was.

"C'mon, sweetie..." Lucy rasped as she slowly pushed her ass back towards him. "You know what your poison does to me..."

Cobra grinned and lowered his hand to her belly again. "Trust me, beautiful. I know..." No way in hell would he be able to forget that Lucy had gotten him so worked up that he bit her at least a dozen times, and since his body naturally lubricated his teeth with poison she had become the most ravenous, sex-crazed vixen that wouldn't let him out of bed for fucking anything... That day—or maybe it was two days, he couldn't really remember—had resulted in the wonderful little life growing inside of her. Still... "You're still cleared for this?" he asked softly. "You're on bed rest so you don't over-exert yourself."

Lucy grinned and said, "As long as we go slowly, I can have all the orgasms you want to give me... Besides, it's not like I can move a whole lot, otherwise I could cause an earthquake..."

"Hilarious," Cobra deadpanned, only to groan loudly when Lucy pinched the tip of his ear and pulled just hard enough to make his eye roll back. "Fuck, I love you..." His hand slowly moved down to her hip, and he carefully started massaging her while grinding against her ass.

" _Mmm_ … I love you too…" Lucy whimpered when Cobra's hand slid from her hip to her inner thigh, his fingers still rubbing soothing circles into her flesh. She brought his lips to hers again, then harshly nipped at his lower lip. "I need you, Erik," she purred.

Cobra smirked and let out a rumbling growl. "I'm all yours, beautiful. Always have been."

* * *

"Damn, I fucking love your hands," Gajeel groaned.

"That's what I like to hear, babe," Laxus chuckled. "Shit, you're tight tonight…"

"Holy fuck, Laxus… Right there…" Gajeel's eyes rolled back, a long moan bubbling up in his throat. "Harder… Oh, fuck… Just like that…"

Laxus grinned and leaned down to gently nibble on the piercings in Gajeel's ear. "You sound so fucking hot," he whispered. "I wonder though…" He paused and his hands went completely still, his grin widening when Gajeel whimpered. "What happens when you mix metal and lightning?"

"Fuck, Laxus," Gajeel rasped. "Bunny's trying to sleep… You know Cobra's gonna beat our asses if we wake her up…"

"Then you'd better bite that pillow," Laxus growled. "Because I'm  _very_  curious now…"

"Son of a—" Gajeel's eyes went wide when he felt the pressure around Laxus increasing, and he buried his face in the pillow beneath him just before the first crackle of electricity zipped through his whole body. A deep growl rolled through him when Laxus started moving his hands again, sending shock after shock through his fingertips that had every bit of flesh he touched humming excitedly. His muscles tensed, the piercings that adorned his lightly tanned flesh increasing the intensity of each subsequent jolt until he was wantonly moaning into the pillow.

"Guess you like it, huh Gajeel?" Laxus chuckled. "How about right… here?"

Gajeel nodded quickly, his teeth clamping down on the pillow as another growl ripped through him. He was so fucking happy that he'd mated with the blonde a year prior. Especially since now Laxus was apparently not as averse to using his lightning while they were together. Gajeel had been the one to initiate the marks between them, so Laxus hadn't needed to send much of his magic into the bite to complete the process. Now, Gajeel was wishing that he'd gotten to feel just how fucking amazing Laxus' lightning felt all over him. Calloused hands smoothed over his back again and again, the jolts slowly dying down until he was only feeling the residual current running through his piercings, and Gajeel finally loosed his grip on the pillow while he panted, "I love you so damn much…"

"Love you more," Laxus whispered, kissing his way over Gajeel's bare shoulders. "Feel better?"

Gajeel nodded slowly, and rolled onto his side when Laxus moved to lie down next to him. "Yep. Best back rub ever," he chuckled, wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist and pulling him closer until their chests were brushing against each other with each slow breath. "I can't believe you told me to bite the fucking pillow…"

"I can't believe you actually did it," Laxus shot back with a cocky grin.

"Shut up," Gajeel grumbled, lightly nipping at Laxus' tattoo and grinning when he pulled a soft groan from his mate. "I don't feel like being poisoned for keeping Bunny up."

Laxus rolled his eyes as he started running his fingers through Gajeel's hair. "If you listened to more than what's going on in our room, you'd know that there's no need for you to worry about that," he laughed. He raised an eyebrow when Gajeel frowned and slightly cocked his head to the side, then brushed his nose along his studded brow. "See? He's the one keeping her up."

"Pretty sure she's keeping  _him_  up," Gajeel snickered.

"Yeah, well…" Laxus growled and rolled Gajeel onto his back, pinning his hands to the bed. He looked deeply into the crimson eyes that were heatedly gazing up at him with a wicked grin and lowered his head until their noses were brushing together. "I'd much rather discuss you keeping  _me_  up…"

"I wasn't doin' anything this time," Gajeel chuckled. "At least not—Oh shit…" He quickly bit his lips to stifle another moan as Laxus dove down and bit into the golden scales on his chest, feeling his cock twitching to life when those sharp teeth dug into him.

"Bullshit," Laxus whispered. His tongue brushed over the scales in a slow circle, lightning passing from him and into the mark in tender arcs. His lip curled into a snarl when he smelled Gajeel's arousal, that heavy metallic scent he'd grown to love filling his nostrils as it darkened into something that always made his whole body thrum with desire. "You know what that shit does to me…"

"Wh-What… shit?"

"Your  _voice_ ," Laxus rasped. "You have no fucking clue how close I was to tearing your goddamn pants off when you started fucking moaning… And then what you said after…" His hips rolled instinctively, forcing his hardened shaft to grind against Gajeel's through their thin pajamas.

"If you can keep me quiet, then do it now," Gajeel whispered quickly, "Otherwise, lemme up and I'll just handle this shit in the shower." The bastard knew just what to do to get him worked up without using the mark on his chest, which could only mean that Laxus wanted Gajeel hard as a fucking rock right then.

When Gajeel started struggling a little, Laxus snarled and bit down on the golden scales again and sent a powerful bolt of lightning through his mouth. His hand shot from holding Gajeel's down to cover the pinned Slayer's mouth just as it opened on a scream of ecstasy, and Laxus shocked him again. And again. "You're really gonna tell me no, Gaj?" he whispered.

Gajeel shook the strong calloused hand away from his mouth. "F-Fuck no," he stuttered. "Just fuck me, Laxus… Please…" His breath hitched when he saw Laxus' nostrils flare before those stormy eyes drew him in and held him captive. He didn't hear or feel the fabric quite literally being torn from his body, nor did he realize that Laxus had pushed his legs apart to start spreading deliciously warm lubricant over him. It wasn't until Gajeel's lips were captured in a tender caress, when his eyes finally fluttered closed, that he felt himself slowly being stretched as Laxus' rigid cock breached his ass.

Laxus groaned softly once he was filling Gajeel with every inch of his shaft. He gently caressed his mate's jaw as their lips separated, a soft smile that was only saved for the red-eyed Slayer in his arms on his face. "You know," he whispered tenderly as he slowly withdrew. "No matter how hard I'm pounding this…  _Mmm_ … Sweet ass of yours…" Laxus grinned when Gajeel grabbed onto his shoulders as he slammed back in. "I'll only ever make love to you."

Gajeel moaned into the kiss as Laxus started rolling his hips. "Shit… You're amazing," he whimpered.

"I'm called the Thunder God for a reason," Laxus groaned with a smirk. His hand lifted from Gajeel's jaw, and he saw those beautiful eyes flash with excitement and just a small bit of trepidation when he let his magic cover it in lightning.

Gajeel's eyes widened before rolling back in his head when Laxus lowered his electrified hand and started stroking his shaft in time with each long, powerful thrust into him. He leaned up and roughly clamped his teeth down on Laxus' shoulder, his canines roughly scraping over the Iron scales, a feral growl roaring to life within him as his body willingly accepted everything his mate could dish out. Harder. Faster. Jolt after jolt of electricity was sent through him, forcing his moans and growls to increase in volume. "Y-Yeah you are," Gajeel moaned loudly. "Fuck… You can…  _Ohhh_ … Oh, Laxus…"

"That's it, lemme hear you…" Laxus growled, his hips surging forward unexpectedly. He tightly grasped Gajeel's thighs and pushed his legs up until his knees were pressed against the sheets. Without missing a beat, Laxus pounded into him harder than before, his breath stuttering when he felt more than heard each and every pleasured cry of his name that flew from his mate. "Fuck, I love it when you say my name…"

Gajeel grinned and tightly gripped Laxus' unruly blond spiked hair. He ran the twin barbells in this tongue over the shell of Laxus' ear, then growled, "Laxus… I'm gonna cum… " His grin was short-lived, however, when Laxus pulled out and dove down face first into his lap as his legs dropped to the bed. Those perfect lips that had spent countless hours worshipping every inch of his body for the past couple years closed over his throbbing shaft, and Gajeel cried out when he felt two lightning covered fingers pushing back into him. "L-Laxus… Oh fucking shit… Laxus!" he groaned as he started thrusting quickly into the hot mouth that always took his breath away.

Laxus moaned around Gajeel's swelling shaft, sending out stronger currents with his fingers as he pushed Gajeel right to the edge. Laxus lifted his head and opened his mouth while his other hand started quickly stroking the panting pierced mage, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of Gajeel's half-lidded eyes and the feral pull at his upper lip.

Gajeel's breath stuttered when he looked down to see so much love shining Laxus' steely gaze, but it was the devastating grin that spread across the blond's face that finally did him in. Between one second and the next, lightning was arcing between Laxus' lips and across Gajeel's swollen tip. His breath rushed out in a loud cry as a powerful burst of electricity ran through him when Laxus curled his fingers inside, and his head flew back as his release surged up the length of his shaft.

Laxus groaned as he swallowed it all down, squeezing every last drop of Gajeel's climax into his mouth, then nearly pounced on the panting mage to finally ease the ache in his own cock. He drove into Gajeel without warning, roughly slanting his mouth over his mate's as he picked up the previously mind-numbing pace. "I'm not  _nearly_  finished with you, babe," he growled with a feral grin, groaning when Gajeel gave him a matching grin before yanking him back down into a steamy kiss.

* * *

Cobra gently closed his mouth over Lucy's spasming sex, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth when he heard his name fall from her in a shaky whimper. The tip of his tongue dipped into her core, pulling the last remnants of her sweet climax from her, then he began slowly kissing his way up her body. "I love you so much, beautiful," he whispered as his hands slid over her stomach.

When he was high enough for her to reach, Lucy lazily sifted her fingers through Cobra's hair as she watched him lavish every inch of her swollen belly with affection. "I love you too, handsome," she whispered back. It never failed to amaze her how tender he could be in moments like this. When they had met, he was more abrasive than industrial grade sandpaper, but she had gained the privilege of seeing the softer side of him once he'd told her his real name all those years ago. Still, Cobra surprised her every day with just how much of a sweetheart he really was.

"Only for you," he chuckled as he looked up into those deep honey eyes. He paused and his smile widened when he felt their daughter's foot kick him in the chin. "And you too, my little angel," he whispered tenderly, lightly nipping at the spot where her foot still was.

"Don't do that," Lucy giggled, "She just stopped kicking, and you're gonna get her all riled up again."

"Not my fault she's a fighter like her mom," Cobra shrugged. "She's even got your signature move down, Baby Kick."

Lucy shook her head and lowered her free hand to her stomach, a contented sigh slipping past her lips when his closed over it. "I think you mean Noxia Kick, hun."

Cobra froze and slowly lifted his head to gape at Lucy. "You… You finally picked a name?" he asked with a wide grin.

"Yep," Lucy answered with a matching grin. "Noxia Autumn Heartfilia."

Cobra chuckled and leaned back down to run his nose over Lucy's belly again. "Hear that? Mommy finally decided on your name, Nox." He paused and glanced at Lucy, then conspiratorially whispered, "Yeah, I know your name is 'Noxious' in Latin… Mommy's silly sometimes."

Lucy pouted and flicked his ear, then squeaked when he playfully nipped at her belly again. "That's because of  _you_ , silly," she giggled. "She's  _always_  begging for more poison."

"I'm surprised you didn't get on me about the nickname."

Lucy shrugged. "You never use anyone's name, sweetie. And Nox isn't half bad."

Cobra chuckled and finished his slow ascent up her body until his lips were hovering over hers. "You know me so well," he whispered.

"Didn't you know? I'm a mind reader," Lucy teased. Her breath stuttered when she saw that mischievous smile that always meant that he had something up his sleeve spreading across his face. "Wh-What are you planning?" she whispered breathlessly.

"Oh, don't you know?" Cobra crooned. "I thought you were a  _mind reader_ …" He chuckled and propped himself up on his knees between her legs, then carefully hooked his arm under one leg and rolled Lucy onto her side. "Comfy?"

Lucy nodded and moaned softly when she felt Cobra's arousal brushing against her. "Comfy as I can get with our little chestburster here."

Cobra snorted and shook his head. "You and that damn movie," he chuckled. "We're never watching Alien again…"

"No need to," Lucy replied with a grin. She pointed at her stomach and said, "We'll get a reenactment in a month. A nice, live show!"

"You're twisted, Lucy…" Cobra whispered. "A genuine psycho."

"But that's what you love about me, Erik," Lucy rasped as he ground himself against her slit. "I'm  _your_ psycho."

Cobra bit his lip and slowly pushed into her sex. " _Fuck_ ," he groaned, "Yeah you are." He gave several short, slow strokes, pushing further into her core each time. His eye raked over her, devouring every mouthwatering inch of her perfect body once he was nestled in her sex completely. Her blonde hair fanned out around her on the pillow, the blush on her cheeks matching her kiss-swollen lips that were parted on a gasp. Lucy's breasts had—much to her dismay and his  _immensely_ secret joy—grown at least a full cup size, her previously light pink nipples having darkened over the past months to a dusty rose color. There was a fullness to her face, arms, and thighs that she hadn't had before getting pregnant, and he didn't think he could love that bit of extra cushion any more. Then there was, of course, the sheer size of her belly. Cobra had never found a pregnant woman attractive before Lucy, but he was sure it had everything to do with the fact that it was  _his_  child growing inside of her, and that he was pretty sure Lucy was incapable of looking horrible. Even with her hair matted from sleep and a trail of dried drool on her chin, she was gorgeous to him. Cobra groaned and smoothed his hands over her legs as he kept a slow pace with her, rocking his hips once he was fully buried to push just a little further and brush against the spot that always made her see stars. "You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Lucy smiled and moaned, the flush across her cheeks deepening when she saw Cobra looking over her body again and again. She knew he always thought she was beautiful, and he made sure to tell her just that every chance he got, but the sheer size of her stomach tended to make her a little self-conscious concerning her appearance. Call it hormones, or just her being superficial and missing how his hands wrapped around her tiny waist, but Lucy wished their daughter had already been born so she could get her body back to normal. That way, she could be the sexy woman Cobra had married, and he could silently rub it in everyone's faces—like she knew he loved to do—that he had the prettiest girl around on his arm.

Cobra frowned and carefully leaned down, moving one hand to gently knead Lucy's full breast while he brought his lips to hers. "I already do," he whispered. When Lucy looked at him questioningly, Cobra groaned as he rolled his hips a little faster. "Doesn't matter how big you get, you're always gonna be sexy to me."

"You're just say—"

Cobra stilled and lifted his head to glare at her. "I'm not just saying it to make you feel better," he said slowly. "I've got no reason to lie to you." When Lucy looked away, he sighed and kissed her cheek. "I'm serious. You're sexy as hell, downright fucking edible, and seeing you without a stitch of clothing on  _still_ makes me want to pin you to the ground and fuck your brains out. You're more beautiful now than when we met."

"H-How?" Lucy whispered, feeling tears welling in her eyes.

Cobra chuckled as his hand slid over every voluptuous curve of her body until his fingers splayed across her stomach once more. "How could you not be when you're gonna make me a dad?" he asked softly. "No way in hell could that make you any less beautiful, Lucy. You're the one that's making us a family. And every bit of you that you think is fat or gross? I fucking  _love_  it."

"… You do?"

"Mm-hmm," Cobra hummed while nipping at her jaw and rocking his hips again. "Damn right I do. You're my sexy little wife, and you always will be. You're beautiful inside and out. Every damn bit of you. Your soul, your eyes, your smile, every inch of your body from your deliciously perky tits down to your chubby little toes. I love  _everything_ about you. Besides…" He grinned and lifted his head to look into her eyes again. "I wasn't attracted to how you look first. It was that amazing song in your soul, and how your mind works that made me fall for you."

Lucy moaned loudly when Cobra pulled back and carefully plunged into her with a little more force. "S-So…  _Mmm_ … My body's just a… Oh, fuck… J-Just a perk?"

"Exactly," Cobra growled. "I fell in love with who you are inside, not your body. That came later... About five seconds after I heard your soul singing."

Lucy smiled and blinked away the fresh wave of tears that wanted to spill over. Leave it to Cobra to put her fears to rest with just the right words. She hadn't known what he could possibly say to make her feel better about how she looked, but it seemed he did. "Hold me, Erik…"

Cobra grinned and slowly shifted the leg that was draped over his arm so Lucy was lying on her side, then growled, "Up on your knees, beautiful."

Lucy's breath hitched and she let Cobra help her sit up, then turned and held onto the headboard. She whimpered with need as his hands danced over the backs of her thighs while he spread her legs just a little further, biting her lips to try and quell the inferno that had begun raging in her once more. His shaft brushed over her slit, teasing her dripping sex and forcing another loud moan from her lips. Again and again, he teased her, until Lucy reached back and gripped his forearm, her nails digging into his flesh. "Erik," she rasped, "Please..."

Cobra chuckled and lined himself up at her entrance, then groaned when Lucy pushed back, her sex greedily enveloping his aching shaft. He leaned forward, and brushed his nose along her shoulder while he rocked further into her, grinning when he felt her sex ripple around him. One thing was for certain, he absolutely loved Lucy's libido—something that had thankfully not dropped out with all of the changes she had been going through. If anything, the woman that had captured his heart was more insatiable than ever before, and he was sure she wouldn't let him out of the house if she actually had the energy and stamina to fuck him as much as she really wanted.

Long, languid strokes had Lucy's head swimming with desire. She tightened her grip on the headboard when his hands wound around her and started teasing her breasts. His thumbs brushed over the rosy tips, hardening them even further just as Lucy's resolve to keep herself still began to waver. Her moans rose in volume and pitch until she was finally pushing back to meet him thrust for thrust. "Oh, Erik! More!"

Cobra's eye widened when he heard Lucy's soul growling, a deeper bass than he'd ever heard from her before starting to sound out. "Fuck, that's sexy as hell," he growled in response. He didn't want to push it and end up hurting her or the baby, so instead of slamming into her like he normally would have, Cobra moved his hands lower. One gently caressed her stomach while his other hand dove between her legs, his fingers quickly seeking out the sensitive little bundle of nerves. It really didn't take much to find his goal, especially since she had apparently gotten Gajeel to give her a hood piercing a month before she ran into him the first time under their tree. A low growl rumbled through him when Lucy arched her back and tried to roll her hips, and he planted himself firmly in her sex. "Careful, beautiful," he moaned.

Lucy panted and screamed his name as he started teasing her clit while keeping his thrusts slow and gentle. She was downright begging him to just fuck her already. Part of her knew that he wouldn't, and while a darker side tried to surface and say it was because he didn't find her attractive anymore, the rest of her was fully reminded about the little life she needed to protect when Cobra nipped at her shoulder again.

"Oh god, Lucy..." Cobra grunted when her sex started slowly tightening around him, gritting his teeth as he tried to hold back.

"Cobra, just fuck me already!" Lucy nearly shouted. She jumped when there were a loud roar that echoed through the house, then realized just what Laxus and Gajeel must have been doing.  _That_  was what she wanted, to have Cobra plowing into her with reckless abandon so she was screaming his name wildly into the heavens. For him to really lose control with her. "Please!"

His eye widened in shock at that name passing her lips, and then a wide and wicked grin pulled at his lips when he heard her running through everything she had read about third trimester sex. His hand slid up from between her legs, and met with his other on her stomach, then he bared his teeth and growled, "Cobra, huh? How about you show your brothers how a mate is  _supposed_ to scream?"

Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion, then threw her head back when Cobra decided to live up to his moniker, his teeth striking her mating mark so quickly she hardly had time to figure out what he had been talking about. Needless to say, Lucy's moans got louder and louder until she was quite literally shrieking his name in ecstasy. More of his poison pumped into her than she'd ever experienced at one time before, and Lucy felt her entire body beginning to tighten up in response. "F-Fuck... Fuck. Fuck, fuck... E-Erik... I'm... I'm… OH FUCK!"

Cobra growled and bit down into the scales even harder, feeling them shifting slightly as he started a much more intense pace than before. Porlyusica said they would need to take it slow, but what Lucy had apparently forgotten to mention was that he could technically still bang her brains out as long as he was careful about her stomach. Those stories about him poking the baby in the head and causing brain damage, among others, were just that. Stories. Which meant all he needed to do was give her some more poison to make sure any potential damage that could have been caused was instantly healed. "Trust me, baby," Cobra groaned as he let her shoulder go for a moment, "Wait 'til that poison sets in…"

Lucy reached back and tangled her hand in Cobra's hair, then forced his mouth down to her mark again as he started pounding into her sex. The sounds of skin slapping filled the room along with the smell of sex and his poison. Her cries of pleasure bounced off the walls, mingling in the air with Cobra's low growls and curses. Suddenly, as if someone had flipped a switch inside of her, Lucy's body began to heat up while it felt as though everything around her slowed to a crawl. Her skin became hypersensitive, every feathery brush of his lips and tongue over her mark, how his fingers tenderly held her stomach, the ferocity of his teeth and rumbling chest, and how her core repeatedly tried to pull him back in with each withdrawal, had Lucy's eyes going wide and her breath stalling in her lungs. She was able to  _feel_  the way Cobra's shaft swelled within her, finally noticing how his breathing changed as he sat on the cusp of his release, how his hands began trembling when they moved up to tease her breasts again. All sense of sound died out around her, until Lucy was only able to hear her own heaving breaths and pounding heart. She couldn't hear what Cobra was whispering to her—although she could feel his breath fanning out over her ear in harsh pants—or what she was responding with; she didn't even really know if she was saying anything at all. He picked up in speed and finally slammed into her one last time, and the release that Lucy had been running towards finally reared its head and tossed her right over the edge without any other warning.

Cobra couldn't have been happier with her response to that particular kind of poison, especially when she started screaming even louder than before as it took effect. He held off as long as possible, but hearing just what the venomous bite was doing to her from her soul and in how she eventually lost the ability to articulate any words whatsoever made him fucking desperate to feel her sex sucking every last bit of his release into her. As his roar finally died down along with Lucy's own climactic scream, he carefully pulled her back into his lap as he sat down on his heels as he continued pulsing in her core.

Lucy's head fell back limply onto Cobra's shoulder, a lazily smile on her face while the poison faded—finally having been completely absorbed by her body through the bond their mating had created. His hands rubbed slow circles over her thighs as he tenderly nipped his way from her shoulder to her ear, and Lucy slowly reached down to pull them up onto her swollen belly again.

Cobra smiled when her fingers laced with his, and he pressed one last kiss just behind her ear before moving to lay both of them down. He couldn't help but chuckle when Lucy quite literally threw the mountain of pillows off of the bed, and watched as his glowing mate carefully rolled over to face him. "I love you, beautiful," he whispered happily.

Lucy beamed at him. "We love you too, Daddy," she whispered back, giggling when he positively lit up at that small switch of a pronoun. She sighed contentedly when he sat up to pull the blanket up over them, pausing to press a soft kiss to her stomach.

Cobra laughed when their daughter gave a series of kicks right against his lips, then lightly nuzzled Lucy's stomach. "I love you too, Nox. Time for bed, okay?"

When Cobra laid back down and pulled Lucy into his arms—with her adjusting so she could comfortably lay her head on his chest—she rolled her eyes when the baby rolled over again calmed down. "She's gonna be a daddy's girl, you know that right?" she teased with a yawn. "She's already listening to you over me."

"Of course she is," Cobra chuckled. "I'm fucking awesome."

"Yes, dear. Yes you are."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic there, Bright Eyes."

Lucy grinned sleepily up at her husband. "Shut your gob and go to sleep, handsome. Mommy's tired."

"Ah, such wonderful parenting," Cobra crooned, snorting when Lucy poked that single ticklish spot she had discovered on his side. "Get some good rest, beautiful," he whispered, pressing a tender kiss to her hair, "I'm home now."

* * *

Gajeel and Laxus sat on the back porch of Cobra and Lucy's home, watching as the young couple sat under the tree that had been the cause of their happiness—at least, according to Lucy. She apparently viewed it as a source of good luck for them, since everything important had happened beneath its branches, both coincidental and intentional. Cobra's arms wound around her waist as she leaned back against his chest, and he instantly started rubbing slow circles over the little girl that was kicking her ass.

"Bunny," Gajeel chuckled, "How's the chestburster doin'?"

Lucy grinned and said, "Noxia's doing just fine, Studly. Her incubation's almost done, so I think we should be able to recreate that scene soon."

"Any word back from Sigourney Weaver?" Laxus asked, laughing when Cobra rolled his eye.

"Not yet," Cobra sighed in mock defeat. "I heard she took that role in 'Baby Mama' a little too seriously, and now she's become a damn factory."

Lucy laughed again and shook her head, then leaned down to whisper to her stomach (knowing full well that all three Slayers could hear her), "See? I told you Daddy likes those movies…"

"No," Cobra grunted. "That movie was fucking horrible…"

"You were laughing…"

"Because Tina Fey's a fucking genius."

"Touché," Lucy laughed. "You liked '27 Dresses' though."

"No," Cobra said slowly, "I liked 'Knocked Up'. Same chick, funnier male lead."

"What about 'Pretty Woman'?"

"The one about the hooker and the dude that shoved a gerbil in his ass? Yeah… No."

"Dude, just admit it… You like chick flicks," Laxus chuckled. When he got an answering one-eyed glare and a snarl, he donned his signature cocky grin and draped an arm over Gajeel's shoulders. "The stud muffin over here fucking loves them. Nothing wrong with watching 'Dirty Dancing' a few times..."

"He's also probably the sappiest son of a bitch I've ever met," Cobra shot back. "I have no idea how many times I've heard him—OW! What the fuck, you pinchy little shit?!"

"Gajeel's thoughts are his and his alone, regardless of whether or not  _you_  can hear them," Lucy said with a frown. When Cobra sighed and shook his head incredulously at her she smiled up at him, then turned to look at Gajeel to see his hand covering his face and his ears burning bright red. "Gajy?"

"Yeah, Bunny…"

"Wanna have a marathon later? Just us?" Lucy asked sweetly. When Gajeel slowly peeked between his fingers to look at her, her smile widened. "Pretty please? I'd rather watch chick flicks with someone who  _wants_ to be there with me than forcing Mr. Sourpuss here to do it."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and smirked over at the sweet blonde. Leave it to her to make that one quirk of his not seem like such a big deal. "You got it, Chubby Bunny," he answered.

"Hey, don't call my wife fat, asshole," Cobra snarled.

"I didn't call her fat," Gajeel laughed. "Didn't she tell you how she got the nickname in the first place?"

"You made her dance in a bunny costume," Laxus said with a frown. "Everyone knows that."

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "No! That was a couple days after he started calling me that!"

"Seriously?"

"Yep! Gajeel walked me home after he joined the guild and apologized for what happened," Lucy said happily. "So, I invited him inside and we ended up playing Chubby Bunny with the three bags of marshmallows I'd miraculously hidden from Natsu."

"I still can't fucking believe you beat me," Gajeel said. "But that's been our inside joke this whole time… And it's  _why_  I made her dance in the costume."

"You're fucking kidding," Cobra whispered incredulously. "How the fuck…"

"… Did you manage that?" Laxus finished.

"I'm part chipmunk, apparently. I think it's on my mom's side," Lucy answered proudly before the entire group burst out into a fit of laughter.

Cobra nuzzled Lucy's neck tenderly as his laughter died down, and he pulled in a breath full of their combined scents from her skin. Her soul was humming so sweetly right then that he could have easily fallen asleep listening to it. He probably would have too, if it hadn't been for the muted high-pitched trilling that he started to pick up. It was different from everything he'd ever heard from her, and the more he focused on it, the more he realized that it was a melody all its own. It just so happened so harmonize with Lucy's extremely well. "Holy fuck," he whispered.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and slowly turned in Cobra's arms to look up at him, only to find him staring at her stomach with his single eye nearly bugging out of his head. "Erik?" she whispered worriedly, "What's—"

"No… Fucking… Way…"

Laxus and Gajeel froze and turned to stare at Cobra, then Laxus said, "What's up, man?"

"Lucy… Baby…" Cobra grinned and looked up into the deep, caring eyes of the woman he loved. "I can hear her… Holy shit, it's fucking beautiful…"

"You can hear—OH!" Lucy's eyes went wide as she looked down at her belly, then back up to Cobra's grinning face. "What does she sound like?"

"A piccolo," Cobra whispered happily as he looked back down at Lucy's belly. "Like a little bird, just chirping away in the morning before she learns how to fly." He closed his eye and lightly tapped her stomach, his grin widening and a watery laugh spilling from him when Noxia's soul chirruped happily. "Baby… I love you so fucking much…"

"I love you too, sweetie," Lucy said as she tucked herself into his chest, gently reaching up to wipe away the tears that had started falling down his cheek.

Cobra's eye opened and he looked hopefully at Lucy. "Will you do us a favor? Please?" he whispered. When Lucy smiled and nodded, he said, "Sing her a song…"

Laxus and Gajeel watched as the giddy smile left Lucy in an instant, her face dropping into a blank mask that honestly scared the pants off of them. Cobra seemed to notice it as well, but he gave no indication of it making any difference in his request. Then again, maybe this was how Lucy always looked when asked to sing.

"… No…"

"Just for her," Cobra said quickly. "Just our little girl. Me and the guys can go inside… Please?"

"… Why?"

"Because…"

"Because  _why_?!"

Cobra winced when Lucy screeched in his ear, but he held back any snarky comments when he heard her soul's distant wailing from her past welling up. He frowned when the piccolo that was their little girl started to decrescendo, and started rubbing circles on Lucy's belly as he whispered, "No, it's okay… Shh… Mommy's not upset with you…"

"What?" Lucy sniffled.

"Sing for her, Lucy… She likes it…" Cobra pleaded. "She started humming that song from last night, and now you're upset and she's getting quiet… Please…"

Lucy frowned and looked down at her stomach, gently placing her hand over Cobra's. "You… You want Mommy to sing?" she whispered. A small smile broke out on her face when Noxia rolled over and started kicking even harder than before.

"She's humming it again…" Cobra chuckled. "Go on."

Lucy sheepishly looked up at Laxus and Gajeel, then took a deep breath and raised her other hand to beckon them closer. "Come on, guys. Family cuddles," she said, her voice trembling a little.

"Nothing to be worried about, sis," Laxus said as he sat down with his back to the trunk, just next to Cobra.

"Spark Plug's right, Bunny," Gajeel said, sitting between Laxus' legs and reaching over to hold Lucy's trembling hand. "We heard you last night. It was fucking beautiful."

"Never heard anything like it."

"Like a choir of goddamn angels just crawled up inside of you and decided to pop out right fucking then!"

Lucy giggled when Cobra reached over and smacked Gajeel in the head, then backhanded Laxus just for good measure. "You guys… You really didn't hate it?"

"Not a chance in hell, Bunny."

"The only thing I hated was that your husband is surprisingly good at writing music," Laxus grumbled. "But, no. I loved hearing you sing."

"See, beautiful?" Cobra whispered tenderly. "Our family loves your voice. And  _this_  little one…" He paused and tapped his fingers lightly on Lucy's stomach again, grinning when Noxia kicked and her soul trilled sweetly. "Well, she's already one of your biggest fans."

Lucy blushed and looked at the three most important men in her life. They had all been enemies of hers at one point or another, but now she didn't know what she would do without them. They were her whole world—her husband, and her two 'big brothers'—and there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for them. "I love you guys," she whispered, laughing softly when Laxus reached up and brushed her tears away.

"We love you too, Blondie," Laxus chuckled. "Oh, and you and Gajeel can count me in on your marathon. No way am I getting stuck with your husband at the guild."

"Right," Cobra drawled, his voice laced with sarcasm, "Because I'm just gonna leave her here when I've been gone for a damn week."

"So… All four of us for a girls' night of movies?" Lucy giggled. "Are you sure you guys don't wanna do horror again?"

"Mmm," Laxus hummed playfully. "Nope, we're just tagging along on this shit. Chick flicks all the way."

"What are we starting with?" Gajeel asked.

When Lucy shrugged, Cobra rolled his eye and said, "I've got a request…"

"Shoot," Lucy giggled.

"Sandra Bullock. She's got some funny fucking movies…"

Laxus laughed and nodded. "Got a point on that one. 'Blind Side' was surprisingly good."

Cobra nodded. "True, but 'Miss Congeniality' is funnier… Especially the doughnuts in her dress… Priceless…"

"There's that new one that just came out," Gajeel added with a grin, "What was it called? It had that one chick from 'Bridesmaids' that shit in a sink…"

"That's 'The Heat'," Laxus chuckled. "We were gonna watch it when we got home."

"That's goin' on the list," Cobra nodded sagely.

Lucy giggled and rested her head against Cobra's chest while the guys started planning out their movie lineup for later that day. She looked up at the leave above them, watching as they swayed in the gentle summer breeze that brushed by. Her life couldn't have turned out more perfect, and it had everything to do with the three men and the little baby inside of her that made up her family. She started humming softly, not realizing that the guys had stopped talking, and eventually started to sing for the first time in years without worrying about what she sounded like.

_Are you, are you_   
_Coming to the tree?_   
_Wear a necklace of hope,_   
_Side by side with me._   
_Strange things did happen here_   
_No stranger would it be_   
_If we met at midnight_   
_In the hanging tree._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the songs used in this story.  
> The Hanging Tree (youtube.com/watch?v=F3hTW9e20d8)
> 
> Noxia's Soul: Tweet for Solo Piccolo (youtube.com/watch?v=kc8WZbAWE1w)


End file.
